


Tort

by NaiKireiYuki



Category: Eremin - Fandom, Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Eremin - Freeform, F/F, F/M, Fem-Armin, M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-03-02
Packaged: 2019-11-08 07:52:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17977337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NaiKireiYuki/pseuds/NaiKireiYuki
Summary: Armin prides herself on her professional craft. As a defense attorney, she consistently strives to make strides at Smith and Ackerman LLP. However, she unexpectedly has to resort to using her adept skills to navigate the landfall of the chaotic hurricane named Eren Jaeger… Unfortunately, for this category 5 storm, an umbrella won’t be nearly enough.





	Tort

**Author's Note:**

> Lawyers + Eremin. Needs to be done. Enjoyyy!

“Did you get a last name or… did God leave that out too?” Historia alluded, clasping her freshly brewed coffee snuggly with both hands. Not a hair above five feet, the snippy blonde blinked her glossy blue eyes twice—the precocious comment dulling the sharp silence.

 

The taller man smiled with a pleasant scoff, extending his hand to the smaller blonde. “Eren, Eren _Jaeger_.”

 

“Ah, there it is.” She laughed, meeting his hand with a firm hand shake. “I knew you had it in you.”

 

“Yep, found it. Who do I have the pleasure of speaking with?”

 

“Historia.” She sipped her coffee with a large pause, refusing to break eye contact.

 

She chuckled teasingly and Eren sniggered briefly.

 

“Historia, Historia Reiss.”

 

“Thanks for sharing that for me.” She recognized the biting sarcasm in his tone.

 

“Hey, don’t get mad when I pull a you on you.” Historia sipped her coffee again, suppressing the cynical attitude that compelled her to honesty—which made her a great contender when coordinating her arguments in the court room.  

 

Eren would soon figure.

 

“Anyways, _welcome_. Everyone here is pretty nice and really helpful so I don’t think that there should be an issue with you thriving here. As long as you work hard and collaborate as much as needed, you’re really guaranteed to be successful.” She shrugged, resting her lips on her coffee cup.

 

Eren looked at the glassy, modern architecture of the firm with satisfaction. “Sounds good.”

 

“Good. Now, I have to assault that big ass mountain of work on my desk. My office number is 23 and direct line is 23 if you have any questions.” She gulped her coffee this time and Eren rightly assumed that she was mentally preparing herself for the varying degrees of work that she begrudgingly had to tackle for the remainder of the day.

 

“What’s up, man?” Reiner let out a boisterous laugh and playfully slapped the much slenderer man’s shoulder with his burly hand.

 

In the distance, Armin heard the chatter outside of her office and enacted on a shred of revulsion. Small talk wasn’t really Armin’s strong suit because it elicited a horrible bout of anxiety. How was the weather? Where are you from? How was your commute this morning? How many other things could I be doing right now instead of pretending to be engaged in this asinine conversation?

 

In the door frame, she uneasily combed her fingers through her waist length hair, practically held hostage by her apprehension as she watched Historia disappear into the confines of her office.  The new guy organized a few folders that he had placed on the table beside him. He still acknowledged the rowdy blond despite his incessant yammering, nodding as if his neck was attached to a puppet string and a timer. Despite the circumstances, Reiner seemed to be really excited to have another “bro” in the office to join his growing, unlimited, and never-ending frat party. She lamented that the glass latent office was beholden to Levi’s “open door policy” as the only reason that she was unknowingly stalking this new associate from her office doorway. She couldn’t resist the peeved eye roll that followed.

 

She had been juggling the plight of five active trial cases and had not been too involved directly with law firm affairs. She had exclusively made appointments with Levi so he could champion some motions that she wished to make in court. She did not want to resort to making deals with the prosecution or getting trapped with a guilty conviction.  

 

She didn’t catch wind of the new associate’s name but she was curious about where he was from—maybe it would justify his precarious man bun. While, that hairstyle might have been flattering where he was from, she could not believe that he confidently marched in the law firm in New York with it. Despite her thoughts, it had to be an influential look here as well. It auspiciously charmed the partners, Erwin and Levi, enough for them to extend an offer to him. Yet, somehow, Armin couldn’t avoid the sting of a cocky and somewhat pretentious tone. Considering that he was a lawyer—that _they_ were lawyers—he could be just be bodingly confident to assuage the uneasiness of unsure clients. Or he could just walk around with an undeserving sense of accomplishment to project the surety of his acquired skills. Either way, _she was suspicious. Of more than just the man bun._

She sighed, trying to unleash the tension building in her core. There was zero indication that there was another shark in the waters… She was never even notified that they were hiring—or even looking. Levi had only expressed interest in growing the team in quality, not _quantity_.

 

Jean only informed her last night before she went home that a new associate would be starting tomorrow. Her _ever_ -so-specific colleague didn’t even mention that he was disciplined in criminal law. The laxness of Jean’s comments had her thinking that he was probably a new immigration lawyer. Because Levi could never find enough exceptional talent in that department to make a new stable wing of the firm, she thought that he would definitely take more time to responsibly expand that part of the firm. In Armin’s opinion, they were more than competent in the criminal law aspect.

 

Surprise.

 

Guess not.

 

Now there would be another contender for partner.

 

Sigh.

 

Armin heard a vicious buzz boom at her desk. Her phone.

 

A meeting was scheduled ten minutes from now in the third conference room.

 

Another surprise.

 

Another sigh.

 

She had a few emails to respond to but she figured that she could perform that task after she secured a seat at the conference table. She piled her new case files that her designated paralegal prepared for her yesterday in front of her computer and made her way to the meeting.

 

As she approached the glass door, where she was meekly greeted with a blank faced Reiner.

 

“Good morning, Armin.”

 

Armin awkwardly smiled at Reiner as he barricaded the door.

 

She felt her heartbeat hammer in her chest as she fumbled with her phone at her side. “Good _morning_.”

 

The burly man remained stationary and prevented Armin from entering the conference room. He seemed to comb over her face with the inane desire of a hungry beast that had his prey right where he wanted. Her marvelous astuteness, enhanced by her luscious blonde locks and bright eyes that alternated between an electric green and a hearty bronze throughout the day always had him painfully awestruck. She was always well dressed, her formal attire always highlighted her delightful curvaceous shape.

 

He seemed to be devouring her with his eyes and Armin felt the fiery pressure _less_ than exhilarating. She immediately diverted her eyes and felt her neck scorch with concern.

 

After the uncomfortable, gritty stillness, Reiner stepped aside and permitted Armin a pathway into the room. Armin’s black pumps couldn’t scurry to a seat fast enough.

 

Reiner always made her feel so exposed—no matter if she was fully clad from wrist to ankle. It had been two years and she couldn’t say that he had gotten any better at being a proper gentleman to her. She could only dream.

 

There were faint mumbles in the large room scattered with lawyers. After a series of murder cases that had controversially torn the attorneys into conflicting sides as they viciously debated which cases they should accept on behalf of the law firm, they didn’t have much to say to each other, especially on this gloomy day. No one felt deserving of the slightest interactions—not even as much as the ‘good morning’ that Reiner had practically solicited from her.

 

The lawyers looked exhausted and vexed as they filed in and filled the vacant seats.

 

Levi sauntered in some time shortly after the allotted text message, witnessing the room sit amongst themselves in hushed silence. So quiet, that if one thought too hard, your neighbor could hear your most intimate contemplations.

 

“Is this a meeting about that one dude?” Connie, one the of their better arbitrators, leaned over Armin’s shoulder, whispering confidentially. While she was fluent in Connie, she was tempted to reprimand his approach his formality when referring to someone that they knew next to nothing about. Only Historia and Reiner had taken the initiative to preemptively introduce themselves to him—obviously for ulterior motives—but for the rest of them, he was all but an unfamiliar phantom.

 

Armin’s hazel eyes narrowed as she saw the aforementioned man advance towards the glass door and enter the room. “I am guessing so.”

 

Connie ducked behind Armin’s left shoulder. “He must be something to get his own meeting, huh?”

 

Armin drummed her fingers on the table methodically, rolling her tongue against her cheek considering Connie’s comment over, avoiding letting out that nagging breath swirling in her stomach. Suddenly, she had wished that she had properly brushed her hair and put on the slightest hint of make-up this morning so she could at least feign being prepared for this unforeseen left jab. The last new lawyer did not get a proper introduction, let alone a mention in a mass email. And here this lawyer was, getting an impromptu meeting. _Neither did she_ when she was hired… “Yeah, I guess he is.”

 

Connie stopped his pointless scribbling on his note pad and gave Levi his undivided attention. As usual, Erwin, a founding partner of the firm wasn’t in attendance because of a long, convoluted trip in favor of collaborating with some judges in an effort to expand the firm. They understood that Levi would brief him about the matter soon after the conclusion of the meeting.

 

Levi Ackerman, the other founding partner of the firm placed a folder down on the Cherrywood table. For a man with such a stature, there wasn’t a polite bone in his body. He was usually inclined to be stern and standoffish as if he was receiving a separate salary for the talent. He was borderline professional and more often than not, they were miffed by his level of success. Nonetheless, they obeyed and respected his decisions despite not agreeing with them.

 

He stood, dragging everyone out of their dark reverie. “Everyone, today we will be welcoming a new lawyer to our firm. He came highly recommended. His name is Eren Jaeger. Eren?”

 

Levi took a seat at the head of the table and allowed the new lawyer the floor.

 

Eren… _Jaeger_.

 

His name was peculiarly iconic but still oddly appropriate.

 

Armin adjusted her glasses on the bridge of her nose but still didn’t have the clearest view of the subject. She could only distinguish his black hair, amber skin and his tall but rather strapping 6’3” figure. He was deliberate with his movements, coincidentally looking as fluent as a contemporary dancer. She was hypnotized by how he exuded charisma and confidence. She straightened her posture and put her hair behind her ear thoughtfully.

 

Armin realized that some time between Eren walking to the head of the conference table and the moment that he opened his mouth, that she had transitioned from a bar approved lawyer to a behavior analyst. Her mind aimlessly pondered if he was a casual soul with a calm disposition as he laxly laid his hand in his pocket. “Hey, everyone. I’m Eren Jaeger. I went to USC and I am a criminal defense lawyer and litigator.”

 

Armin thoroughly scanned the room for any definitive reactions from Eren’s captive audience. Notably, the trial lawyers, including Annie and Reiner became pensive. They were all aware of how stringent Levi was about courtroom performance. In order for Levi to approve of a new attorney to participate in the legal media circus that commonly occurred with their high-profile cases, he must have been either wholeheartedly convinced… or viciously blackmailed.

 

Or maybe the latter.

 

 Both of Eren’s hands slithered into his pockets as he found more himself being lavishly consumed by the concentration on him and his accolades.

 

“I practiced at Zackly and Dok in southern California as an attorney and advising legal counsel to inquiring clients.”

 

Armin was already charmed by the brief introduction—swimming in the sea of his words as if his tongue was dripping with tantalizing honey.

 

 _California_ …

 

“That being said, I play well with others and I believe in following through with all my cases.” There was a mischievous glint in Eren’s indecipherable eyes that swiftly disappeared with the very next statement.

 

“I have acquired an 88% acquittal rating in the 4 years that I’ve been practicing.”

 

Armin felt her lip twitch involuntarily.

 

That was sustainably higher than her _79%_ acquittal rating.

 

The best rate of the practicing lawyers at the firm.

 

She was _officially_ intimated.

 

“I came to New York to embark on the challenge of improving my performance in the courtroom and possibly raising my current acquittal rating. I am excited to be here and definitely grow with the firm. Nice to meet all of you. I look forward to my time here.”

 

There was a deafening round of applause for him and Armin felt her head thud, her hearing become hazy.

 

The reason he was here all made sense, now.

 

“That will be all. Eren’s a part of our team now and you will treat him as such… Get back to work,” Levi grumbled, getting up to leave.

 

Eren sighed as he sat on the industrial air conditioning unit that was built into the left side of the conference office. Armin elected to wait until Eren left to make her exit but he seemed rather comfortable in his newly poised position on the AC. With every step, she encroached on Eren’s mysterious aurora. Nonetheless, Armin’s legs wouldn’t let her advance beyond the man. Although, she wanted to engage, she was unnerved about participating in a one on one conversation with him.

 

Armin’s fear exploded into a full-blown panic as she inspected the lawyer more… intimately. He was armed with a pair of unmistakably broad shoulders that were snug in his expertly tailored suit. His hair was an exotic onyx and remarkably sleek, tied back in a low, distinctive bun. With high cheek bones and whimsical gray eyes that appeared nearly devoid of pigment—almost transparent—it was almost like he was a living breathing oil painting that defied the rules of reality.

 

She appeared to have captured his attention. Magically, his expression softened, his gaze stitched with blooming curiosity. “Hey, I don’t believe that we’ve met.”

 

Eren gave a genuine smile and Armin’s stomach entwined into a million knots never to be untangled again, like a hectic ball of yarn.

 

“We haven’t.” A small smile twitched onto Armin’s glossed lips as she compulsively pulled down her pencil skirt. She noticed that it was a nervous habit—that would mean that she was admitting to being nervous. Admitting that Eren made her _nervous_.

 

“I am… Armin Arlert.” Eren held out his hand and they shared a firm, routine handshake. Surprisingly, after the contact, Eren gingerly held onto Armin’s hand in his lap. Armin’s heart shriveled as her brain worked overtime to supply her body with oxygen, her mouth swallowing all the air overzealously. She couldn’t completely compensate for her haywire train of thought, so she remained muted with a faint smile that wasn’t at all indicative of the chaos going on in her head.

 

Eren’s engaging gray eyes dragged Armin into a whirlwind and she felt the cage from his husky voice create a vice around her neck. “Nice to meet you. What’s your position here?”

 

And while Armin heard everything that Eren said to her, Eren’s sharp gray eyes enthralled her to the point of mental extinction. A few seconds more than normal passed and Armin hurried to concoct an answer before Eren thought that she was the mentally impaired lawyer here.

 

“I am… a junior associate here.”

 

“How long have you been here?” Eren momentarily broke eye contact with her to glance at the attorneys filing out behind them.

 

“Two years,” Armin answered frankly, fleetingly pondering what experience Eren would have paving his way here at this law firm. She was rattled from her musings by Eren’s response.

 

“ _Wow_ , that’s impressive.” Eren nodded with admiration.

 

Armin instinctively raised a well-groomed eyebrow. “More impressive than an 88% acquittal rate?”

 

Armin was immediately aware that the inquiry was off the cuff but she had to test this _well-crafted_ persona that he seemed to have mastered. Eren seemed to take pause at the challenging statement, not giving a signal whether he found it pleasant or dismissive.

 

Armin decided that she didn’t anyone placating to her for the sake of saving face right off the bat. 

 

An enigmatic smirk arose on Eren’s lips. “I can’t rank our accomplishments. Can’t say it’s particularly _useful_ for anything other than _pointless_ competition. While a little rivalry can be healthy between lawyers, it deviates from the main goal of winning the case and improving the firm as a whole. All I _can_ confirm, is that I would have never I expected anything less.”

 

Armin blinked a few times. Did… he just singlehandedly disband her seemingly passive aggressive behavior in favor of them being viewed as... true equals?

 

She involuntarily was relieved at the respectfulness that seemed to exude from the new associate despite her bitter bite a few seconds earlier. He wasn’t disingenuous at least. And _maybe_ not _completely_ full of shit.

 

Eren seemed to rekindle interest with Armin’s hand in his lap, gently stroking her fingers as he reminisced. Appearing thoughtful, he lowered his head and then after dived into Armin’s attentive chestnut colored eyes.  “The old me might have been a _little_ jealous that someone who wasn’t me could excel that fast… But now I realize that it’s an asset to have this type of ambition and genius at one’s disposal.”

 

While he shared his perspective, he mused how soft and well-manicured Armin’s hands were—the opposite of her apparently distrustful exterior. Another challenge that he wasn’t opposed to combating.  

 

Armin exhaled a breath she hadn’t realized that she had been suppressing.

 

**_88%..._ **

 

“With that said, I look forward to working with you, _Armin_.” Eren virtually purred her name in a level, gruff voice and left the room, finally getting the opportunity to lay claim to his brand-new office.

 

And… She had never been more intrigued in her life.

**Author's Note:**

> Please share your thoughts, comments, concerns, questions! I'd love to hear what you think :)) 
> 
> Hit me up on http://n-k-y.tumblr.com/ if you need anything!
> 
> Thank you so much for reading. <3


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